U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total value of $31,204.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,357.94. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 53,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,854,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 249.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after buying an additional 35,191 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 228.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 82,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,964,000 after buying an additional 57,293 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $819,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $82.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.49. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 52 week low of $62.77 and a 52 week high of $101.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $183.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.78 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is presently 82.57%.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.